Waltham Abbey’s Joe Clarke says it was important not to let a penalty in heat one of the K1 canoe slalom at the Rio Olympics affect his performance.

The 23-year-old picked up a 50-point penalty before winning heat two of the event to secure qualification for the semi-final which takes place on Wednesday.

Clarke was left with no room for error in the second heat but said he could not dwell on his previous mistakes as he attacked the course to clock a winning time.

“It [the penalty] could have gone either way, but I put myself in a position where I had to make a decision and I can’t change that,” Clarke said.

“A few centimetres either way and [the run] would have been absolutely fine. We took away all the positives and put it to bed.

“It’s natural to have thoughts [about not being able to make an error in heat two] but you’ve got to pull them to the back of your mind as quickly as possible. If you let them affect you then the second run isn’t going to go very well.”

His time of 86.95 seconds in the second heat ensured he claimed top spot and qualified just behind Italian Giovanni de Gennaro.

The pair have trained together in the past and Clarke says it was an enjoyable experience to share his success with de Gennaro.

He said: “Me and Giovanni de Gennaro who finished first are really good mates.

“We’ve done training camps together and we’ve practiced on this course together, so to share the success in the qualification with him is fantastic.”

Qualification represents a fine achievement for the relatively inexperienced Clarke after he arrived in Rio with limited expectations.

His family were in attendance to watch him progress to the next round of the competition and Clarke says he is able to feed off their positivity.

He said: “My family came here with no real expectations of me. The fact that I have made it here is absolutely fantastic.

“They said they’d support me whether I finished last or first. It’s such a great achievement to be here at 23-years-old, they’re not going to put pressure on me.”